DEBRA A. PINALS, M.D. serves as Senior Medical and Forensic Advisor and Editor-in-Chief for the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), and as the Medical Director of Behavioral Health and Forensic Programs for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and is the Director of the Program in Psychiatry, Law, & Ethics and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School and Clinical Adjunct Professor at the University of Michigan Law School. She has worked in outpatient, inpatient settings, forensic and correctional facilities, emergency rooms and court clinics, has received public service awards and has been an expert witness in many cases. She is Board Certified in Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, and Addiction Medicine. During her career she has been a clinical policy advisor related to the opioid crisis and has consulted on complex systems cases for people with mental illness, substance use disorder, and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities who are receiving treatment or support in various places- such as in community, court, carceral, forensic and state hospital settings.

 

Dr. Pinals was appointed as the Assistant Commissioner of Forensic Services from 2008 to 2016, overseeing work for persons with serious mental illness at the intersection of police, courts and correctional services, and also was appointed Interim State Medical Director from 2012-2013 for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. She teaches and publishes extensively and has led and consulted on numerous federal grants including those related to opioids, co-occurring disorders, juvenile justice, and behavioral health and justice partnerships. Recently she has been a lead subject matter expert on issues pertaining to competence to stand trial for the SAMHSA GAINS Center. She conducts work as an expert witness and subject matter expert across the country. She is a past President of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, past Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Psychiatry and the Law and Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, as well as past Chair of the Forensic Division and current Chair of the Medical Directors Division for NASMHPD.

 

In her work with NASMHPD she has co-authored key policy papers including “Beyond Beds:The Vital Role of a Full Continuum of Psychiatric Care” and “Crisis Services, Meeting Needs, Saving Lives.”